Sublte Changes
by AshleyElizabeth1630
Summary: Shortly after the war, Hermione and Draco realize they have unfinished business... My first drabble


**We could hear it in our bones**

The hollowness of the war had destroyed the youth in our souls. I never thought that I would be relieved to see my father's lifeless eyes locking with my own. The fact that this was probably the only time Lucius ever looked at me without disappointment in his stare, was not lost on me. But he was gone, it seemed like he had been dead for much longer.

The sound of someone's throat clearing brought me out of me dark thoughts. I didn't look up, I could already sense that it was her, though slightly changed by the war her scent was the same as it was during out Hogwarts days. Parchment and knowledge, I smiled in my head at the silly thought, not knowing if I should address her presence yet.

"Draco I-"

"Don't. He would have killed you if you hadn't… Trust me Granger I'd rather have you around then him." I turned and looked at her, she looked utterly defeated. She hadn't killed a single person during the war, and now that it was over she was forced to.

"Look Hermione," My tone softened even more, I understood killing people has a way of shaking ones soul. "Since I've been helping the white hats" She smiled slightly at my joke. "You've helped me realize a lot so, thank you." She looked down, her mouth forming a tight line. At that moment I wished I could read minds.

"Realize what? I feel like I've done more damage to you than help. I can't seem to say the right things to you at all and I hate it. Draco Malfoy you put me out of sorts, why do you think I can't stand being around you? I used to want to make you see that you were wrong about the world. That people like me weren't rotten, that we deserved everything that a pureblood does and-"

"You've done exactly that." I interrupted and she glared.

"BUT somewhere down the line that changed. It wasn't just about making you see past blood, it was making you see me. It became selfish and it cheapened what I set out to do. So I got angry and stubborn and now I've killed your father there's nothing I could do to make this ok. I just wanted you to _see _me."

At that moment three things clicked in my mind. 1) The reason that Hermione was at the manor was because she was looking for me. There was no way that she could have realized that aurors where there to collect my father.

2)She was there to apologize to me for the fights we had been having lately, it wasn't anything too out of the usual just more frequent. It was as if she was seeking them out since the war ended and everything had quieted a tad.

And 3) I did see her. In everything, she was around all the time. And I wanted it that way, I wanted to argue with her over stupid things like putting a book back on a shelf in the right spot, or not leaving cupboard doors open. I wanted her around me in the worst possible way, and now that the war was over and people had moved out of the safe house how was that supposed to continue?

"Now you listen to me Hermione Granger. You've taught me more in your arguments then most have ever done in a lesson. For some reason we're like oil and water but it works. We may drive each other mad but honestly life would be boring any other way. So instead of trying to make this about something else, why don't we talk about what's really going on here? Hmm? Let's use our grown-up words and get this sussed out because I'm done being on the defensive here."

"Malfoy what are you saying"

"What I'm saying Granger, is that I _do _see you. And that scares me as much as it scares you."

"Draco I-" Before I knew it I had crossed the space that was keeping us separated. I looked down into her brown eyes, noting the freckles across the bridge of her nose and the one curl that had come down from her messy bun.

"Hermione, Do shut up." And I kissed her. I didn't realize I was doing it until she kissed back. And the fact that she was kissing me back didn't redgister until her hands gripped my arms with a slight squeeze.

The Kiss was gentle but demanding, I felt all the want that she had tried to put into her words in the way her mouth felt against mine. In that moment I knew that I was gone. In that moment I knew that I would be hers until she didn't want me and more probable for a long time after that.

I didn't know how broken I was until Hermione Granger healed me with that kiss and I knew that I would never be that broken again.


End file.
